The Morning After
by ilovetvalot
Summary: When Penelope Garcia wakes up with a man in her bed...especially this man...it becomes VERY important to learn how he got there. Hotch/Garcia. Written for the CM Xmas Gift Exchange for BREN GAIL on Chit Chat on Author's Corner.


_**A/N - This story is for Bren Gail for the CM Christmas Fic Exchange at "Chit Chat on Author's Corner". Prompts were "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, Secret Santa, and alcoholic eggnog. I hope you like it.**_

* * *

**The Morning After**

Yawning widely as she turned over in her comfortable bed, Penelope Garcia stretched lazily, her sluggish muscles protesting the movement strenuously. God, what the hell was wrong with her body? And why in the name of Bill Gates did it feel as though her head was filled with cotton?

Cracking one eyelid carefully, the bright winter sunlight streaming through her bedroom window pierced her reluctant retina, momentarily blinding her. Groaning as she threw her arm over her face, she shook her head, immediately regretting that action as her stomach churned.

That's what you get for drinking that last flute of spiked eggnog, her conscience chastised her. Despite your stunning good looks, you're not quite as young as you tried to convince yourself you were last night, that annoying little voice in the back of her mind chastened.

She scrambled to remember the previous evening, searching for clues that would shine light on the current state of her pleasantly sore body and addled mind. The eggnog explained her foggy memory; she knew that. She'd never been able to hold her liquor, and Morgan's Christmas brew was well known for the punch it carried with it.

But those sore muscles? Experimentally moving her lower limbs against the cool sheets, she winced as Brenda Lee's peppy voice filled with holiday cheer echoed "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" into the bedroom. She sent her hand blindly toward the nightstand without opening her eyes again, slapping at the irritating radio alarm clock with as much force as she could muster. It was doubtful that she'd be rockin' anywhere today...in the new OR the old fashioned way.

Dropping her head heavily back against her soft pillow, she found herself drifting almost pleasantly, the covers warm against her skin, the mattress cradling her body. She could have simply dropped off into blissful slumber once more.

She could have...if not for the soft snore emanating from her left side.

Somebody was sleeping in Mama Bear's Bed! That was her first thought as her startled eyes popped open to stare wildly at the popcorn ceiling. And since she didn't currently have a Papa Bear...

Screaming as she lunged upward in bed, her foot landing against the body beside her and shoving violently, she watched with satisfaction as said body toppled over the edge.

"Ouch!" a deep voice groaned from the floor. "Penelope?" the decidedly familiar voice inquired from below. "Is there a particular reason you're performing karate moves that would make a seasoned sensei proud at the crack of dawn?"

Eyes widening, Penelope felt a shiver slide down her spine. "H-Hotch?" she whispered, crawling across the bed to peer over the edge into the sleepy face of her Unit Chief. "Oh, my God! HOTCH!"

What the hell had happened last night that had led to the Big Cheese to sharing her bed?

Cringing, Hotch grabbed his head in his hands as he attempted to right himself on the cold floor. "Penelope, please...lower it just a few decibels."

Tamping down on her rising panic, Garcia concentrated on breathing as she stared at her boss. Hotch had been in her bed. Aaron Hotchner had spent the night with her. The crush of your life slept with her! And she couldn't even remember it!

Scooting backward as Hotch hauled himself back to his knees, his elbows resting on her mattress as he massaged his temples, she asked, "What happened last night?"

"I don't know," Hotch murmured hoarsely, silently willing the throbbing in his head to abate.

"But how did we get here?" Pen asked, looking around her familiar bedroom, each item in its place. There was a disturbance in the force…somewhere…somehow something was off.

"I'm not sure," he answered absently, his scratchy throat making his words gruff.

"Well, Agent Expert Profiler, could you at least tell me why we're naked?" Penelope squealed, finally registering that they were both clad in nothing further than their birthday suits. Yanking her sheet around her nude body, she stared at Hotch's bent head with horrified, albeit slightly lustful, eyes.

"Huh?" Hotch asked, lifting his head to stare blankly at her flushed face.

"Boss Man, you're making the Greek statues envious over there," she remarked tightly, her hand fluttering helplessly toward his rippled chest.

Eyes automatically dropping to his own body, Hotch choked as he grabbed wildly for the bright pink bedspread, "Oh, dear God! I'm naked!"

"As a jaybird," Pen confirmed with a nod, suddenly finding herself deeply disappointed that he had taken that stunning sight away from her.

"I don't...I'm not sure..." Hotch floundered, looking around the room. "How the hell did this happen?" he frowned, his brow furrowing.

"Only one of us here is the expert profiler, Captain. You tell me," Pen ordered, wrapping her arms around her knees underneath the sheet.

Rising to sit beside her on the bed, Hotch huddled underneath the comforter. "I'm a profiler, Garcia. Not a psychic." Shaking his head, Hotch asked as he offered her a sidelong glance, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Having that last glass of eggnog at the Christmas party," Pen replied automatically, her head automatically aching at the thought of more liquid Christmas cheer. "You?"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Hotch tried to recall the events of the last night. He'd dropped Jack off with Jessica for the night because Strauss had insisted his attendance at the annual Christmas party was not voluntary, but mandatory…despite his vocal arguments to the contrary. Flashes of the night bounced through his memory. "I remember the Secret Santa exchange," he murmured in slight confusion. "You had my name. You got me a Christmas tree tie, complete with flashy lights," he said as he smiled at that memory.

"You mean this tie?" Pen asked weakly, pulling the discarded garment from its precarious perch on the headboard of her bed.

"That's the one," Hotch murmured, his cheeks heating slightly as he had a brief recollection of twirling the tie above his head in a very, questionable way. At the time, he'd been modeling it for her...and the tie had been the only thing he'd been wearing.

"I remember finding out that JJ was my Secret Santa. She got me that gag bag of condoms," Pen said, squeezing her eyes shut as she focused on pulling the memory from her mind.

"You mean these condoms?" Hotch grimaced, lifting the now half empty plastic jar of condoms from the nightstand.

"Oh, God," Pen groaned, covering her face with her hands, embarrassment flooding her.

"They glowed in the dark, if I recall correctly," Hotch mused dryly, his lips twitching as he remembered Penelope's happy laughter as she'd noted that it wasn't his nose glowing as brightly as Rudolph's.

"So we can blame this on JJ, right?" Penelope's muffled voice asked hopefully through her hands.

"I'm going to go with Rossi," Hotch shook his head, snaking a free hand from beneath the comforter to rub his aching brow. "If it hadn't been for those tequila shots he'd insisted we do before we all serenaded Erin Strauss with our rendition of "You're a Mean One, Mrs. Grinch", we might have been okay," he added conversationally.

Giggling as she remembered the entire team's ode to the Section Chief, Pen dropped her hands to grin at Hotch. "You've got to admit, Rossi's rendition was the perfect gift to her."

"It definitely had a certain savoir faire to it," Hotch grinned, leaning back against the pillows as he let the garish comforter slip slightly. "So, it appears that we might have immersed ourselves in a bit of over-celebrating last night."

Biting her lip, Pen nodded.

"So I'd say the damage is done, wouldn't you?" Hotch asked carefully, measuring his words as he considered their current options.

"Santa's sleigh definitely left the North Pole," Pen agreed readily, her shoulders shrugging beneath the thin sheet.

"And arrived at his destination," Hotch added slyly, his grin starting to grow wider as he watched her cheeks flush prettily. "Multiple times."

Flashes of her writhing beneath the man beside her teased her memory and Pen felt a shiver that was definitely not related to any sense of embarrassment claim her. "Santa was a very efficient deliveryman," she informed him through twitching lips as warm fingers trailed down her back, coaxing her backward.

And as it turned out...he had one last present to deliver.

Thank God it was the gift that kept on giving.

_**Finis**_

* * *

_**Author's Note: First, I hope you guys enjoy this new story. It will be updated once a week. **_

_**We have a few announcements for year today. First, don't forget we have a new challenge open on the forum, "Chit Chat on Author's Corner". Sign-ups for our January challenge, "The Happy New Year's Challenge" is open through December 30, 2010. We'd love to have each one of you. Simply swing by the forum (you can link to it thru our profile pages) and sign up with the pairing you'd like to see written and three prompts associated with the holiday. On Jan 1, 2011, you'll be assigned a random pairing (not the one you usually write) and three prompts to write by January 30.**_

_**And don't forget - those that signed up to complete the CM Christmas Fic Gift Exchange, you have exactly THREE days left. Please PM me if you have any problems.**_

_**Finally, if any of you have any idea for issues/activities that you'd like to see "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum tackle in the form of discussion threads and/or challenges, please let us know. We want to bring you all some really fun threads in the New Year!**_

_**As always, thank you to every reader, reviewer, and person that favorites or alerts one of our stories. Hearing from each of you means a great deal to each of us. We truly value your thoughts and opinions. Now, on with our story!**_


End file.
